Handy Tip for Color Matching

Here's a quick tip for trying to match colors to your decor. You could bring a fabric swatch with you, but what if you have several swatches? If you can match ribbons to your particular fabrics, that gives you a more solid block of your desired colors. Remember this pillow?


I promise the ribbons match the floral better than it seems. And more importantly, I matched that blue and the brown to other fabrics I want to use. So I just cut some short pieces and taped them to a 3" x 5" card:


I carry it in my planner in my purse. So when I'm at the store and find something I think might match, I can judge quickly (and accurately) how close it is. It's how I picked the fabric for this pillow:


And, as you can see, the salmon pinks match just about perfectly.

Anybody else have some tips for matching when you're out and about and looking for deals?

I'll be linking to the usual parties on the left, and be sure to check out this new one: